A Pennsylvania man who used a drone to retrieve the carcass of a deer that had been shot and injured by a hunter has been found guilty of violating state hunting laws.
Joshua Wingenroth, 35, of Downingtown, plans to appeal the verdict handed down Thursday by Lancaster County District Judge Raymond Scherer. The case is apparently the first time someone has been charged and tried in Pennsylvania for using a drone to retrieve a dead game animal, and shows that Wingenrot was not allowed to hunt as defined by state law. It depends on whether you were involved or not.
“Congress needs to address this issue,” Scherer said as he handed down the verdict. “Everyone wants to keep up with the science.”
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Authorities said Wingenroth had been openly advertising his business in local publications, but state game wardens told him last year that such activity was illegal. But Wingeroth said lawyers “have a different interpretation” of the law.
On Dec. 6, an employee of the Masked Hunting Commission contacted Mr. Wingenroth and asked if he could meet and help find a deer he had shot at Wales Mountain Preserve. Wingenroth met with a police officer there within an hour and had them sign a waiver stating that he wanted to retrieve the deer carcass, but if the deer was found to be still alive, he would “save it another day.” I agreed to hunt deer.
Two white-tailed deer forage in the woods of Wyomissing Park on November 19, 2020. (Ben Hastie/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
Unaware that the story of the deer shooting was a hoax and part of a sting operation, Wingenroth immediately launched a drone and used an infrared camera setup to capture the landscape in black and white. It was operated remotely. He quickly captured a live deer, turned on the camera’s infrared setting, and heat it to show up on his map.
I then turned that setting off, turned on the spotlight, and observed the deer as normal. However, he and the officers were soon contacted by game wardens, who seized the drone and charged him with two counts of using an illegal electronic device while hunting, as well as disturbing game and wildlife and restricting recreational spotlights. Wingenroth was charged with violating the law.
Officials said Wingenroth technically used the drone to “hunt” his prey, since the legal definition of hunting includes tracking, hunting and retrieval. He was found guilty on all four counts and fined $1,500.
Wingenroth’s attorney, Michael Siddons, said his client plans to appeal the sentence. Siddons argued at trial that state laws regarding the use of equipment while hunting are “outdated” and have been amended over time to cover new technology, but do not yet address the use of drones. said.
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Siddons said it would have been illegal poaching if Wingenroth had used a drone to locate the animal before shooting it, but Wingenroth instead believed there was a deer carcass. That’s what it means. Also, I only used the drone after hunting time was over, and I had no intention of hunting.
